“It is sometimes easy to deliver an unhappy man from his present distress, but it is difficult to set him free from his past affliction. Only God can do it. And even the grace of God itself cannot cure the irremediably wounded nature here below. The glorified body of Christ bore the marks of the nail and spear.”
Archives for June 2013
Don’t play the Korah card
I have been in a couple of situations where concerns were brought to a pastor who then likened the one who brought the concern to Korah attacking Moses. While I understand the temptation for a leader to deal with a complaint in this way, that temptation must be resisted. Not only is it inappropriate, it does nothing to fix the situation (unless of course the leader’s goal is to eliminate any other opinion than his own).
Playing the Korah card is wrong for the following reasons:
- Nowhere in the New Testament do we have any indication that pastors are on a higher spiritual plane than those they lead. To play the Korah card assumes an authority that I do not see granted to an individual elder.
- Whenever the ruling body of the church is mentioned in Acts, elders (plural) are mentioned. It is a group of elders and not an individual that provides leadership to the church. A leadership team takes personality conflict and personal blind spots out of the equation. A group of elders can hear the complaint and assess the appropriateness of what is being said and respond to the complaint in grace and truth.
- My own experience is that when someone complains about me, there is usually a kernel of truth in the complaint that needs to be addressed. To dismiss the complaint by playing the Korah card is to reject an opportunity to be lead into growth by the Holy Spirit. Growth requires that we own the part that is true.
Keep in mind that Korah’s rebellion was ultimately against God and it was God who dealt with that rebellion. Moses did pray for God to reject Korah’s offering but Moses did not directly do anything against Korah. We should learn from Moses’ example.
A better way of dealing with the complaint is to bring it before the other elders so that they can sort out what is true and what is not in the complaint. This speaks to the importance of having a ministry team that can work together to speak into the blind spots of each other.
So, if you are a church leader who is tempted to play the Korah card when someone offers criticism, bite your tongue, bring it to God in prayer and ask for help from your fellow leaders to respond appropriately.
Everyone will be better off if you do.
No man, Lord – Reflections on John 8
This is a guest post by Michael Andrzejewski who serves the Lord in Portugal and whose biographical information appears below.
With so much disdain, they shoved her down before him, the one that they called Master in public, but the Threat, in private. They hated him more than her. They hated him more than what they caught her doing.
They had just dragged her away, hastily ripping the two lovers apart from each other. From that first moment when they burst in, fear and remorse engulfed her.
Nothing made sense. She wanted to explain. What were they going to do with her lover? Why wasn’t he being taken too? She fought hard to put her thoughts in order. Where were they taking her?
Wave after wave of regret crashed down upon her fragile soul.
Still indecent and disheveled they threw her down at his feet and spat the words. At him.
Master, we caught her. We walked right in on her cheating. She’s supposed to be stoned. What do you think we should do? (John 8:4-5)
She dare not speak, but within, she begged for mercy. She longed to be forgiven. She longed to be free.
She never considered the consequences when the flirting began. She never thought about the other lives that would be ruined. All she saw was her lover’s attention.
The desire for immediate satisfaction shouted down all caution about what might happen if they were caught.
The law says that she’s got to be put to death. Judge her. Tell us what do.
Silence. Slow and deliberate. He knelt, ignoring them. He wanted to know about her. In her eyes he saw fear and pain. Sorrow. Shame.
Through the tears, she noticed him writing something in the dirt, as they insisted…
Should we stone her? Should we?
Accusers are always persistent, but Mercy is patient. Long-suffering.
Finally, he rose, looked at the mob and spoke.
He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. (John 8:7)
He was ready to answer. He was ready to give them his mind about the matter, but he asked one thing first: let all of those without sin rare back and let her have it. Then he would answer.
The leader, the oldest and wisest of the group, looked at Jesus, looked at the ground and opened his hand to let the jagged stone fall to the dust. He couldn’t. He knew that his heart was just as filthy.
The memory of our own sins should be a sufficient deterrent against judgment of others.
If it’s not, we better start remembering before we start casting stones. If it’s not, we should begin to question our understanding of grace. If it’s not, we should begin to question our understanding of forgiveness.
So, he turned and walked off. His conscience cutting far deeper than any stone possibly could.
But his conscience didn’t bring him to grace. Rather than bring him to the Lord, it stopped short.
Man’s conscience is able to convict of sin. But it’s not able to transform him into the image of Christ. Neither is it able to liberate him from the present or future power of sin. Without the conviction of the Holy Spirit, the conviction of conscience is incomplete.
The thud of rocks falling to the ground grew louder as the mob grew smaller and smaller until the last one, the youngest among them, finally let go of his anger and walked away in shame.
There she remained, alone with the man that had just saved her life. Before she could thank him, the question came.
Where did they all go? Did not at least one of them condemn you?
No man, Lord.
Neither do I. Go and sin no more. (John 8:10-11)
When there is no condemnation of sin, there is the presence of a command to live a holy life.
By mercy, the Lord spared her life. Through grace, he gave her a new one.
“Thank you, Lord for not condemning me when for so long I deserved it. Thank you, Lord for giving me a new life in You. Thank you for power to walk in that new life with You. I praise you today because I know that my life is no longer defined by sin, but by your grace and your love for me. Thank you for becoming my sin on the cross, even when you knew no sin. Let me ever remember that I have no condemnation in you. Help me to ever walk after Your Spirit. Amen.”
Conformity versus unity in the church
I have observed that sometimes when a pastor or church leader speaks about unity what they really are talking about is conformity. There is a big difference.
As believers, we are called to be unified in Christ. Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:14-16 that we who were formerly enemies have not been reconciled to each other because we’ve each been reconciled to Christ. The differences that once divided us no longer are able to do so.
This reconciliation does not wipe away our differences, nor does it mean that we immediately become easy to live with. Yet we are called to unity. This unity is in response to a common relationship with Jesus Christ and it is to be based on honesty about who we are and what we would like to become. Unity is an internal motivation.
Conformity, on the other hand is the result of pressure applied from the outside to adhere to an external standard. In short, it is pressure to appear to be something that we are not. I have seen this pressure in far too many churches.
There are several clues that will give an indication that you have conformity and not unity in a church:
- Watch how the pastor or other leaders interact with church members. If there is an authoritarian tone it is likely a church that practices conformity and not unity.
- Watch how the members interact with each other. If there are some who are accepted and others who are not, then you have conformity and not unity.
- Find out if there is spontaneous ministry happening or if the leaders control all the activities of the church. If the leaders exercise control over body life, you likely have conformity and not unity.
- Watch how well the children that grew up in that church do once they get to college age. If a high percentage of them walk away from Christianity, it is likely a church that practices conformity and not unity.
In a body that practices unity, we are allowed to be the mess that we really are and not try to appear to be a paragon of holiness. Biblical unity allows us the freedom to be honest about who we are and be loved in spite of our flaws.
The danger for those of us who grew up in the church is that we develop a high tolerance for phoniness and sometimes don’t pick up on the dynamics that pressure us to conform. Like Pavlov’s dogs, we respond to the stimulus and toe the line without even thinking about our response. As a result we hold others at a distance and don’t let anyone really get to know us. We can promote conformity without realizing it.
If you find yourself in a church that practices conformity and not Christian unity, the only advice I can offer is for you to flee from that church. Your spiritual health, and that of your family is at risk in staying.
There are churches who get this right. When you find a church that truly practices Christian unity, it may be a little uncomfortable at first. You might wonder if the people are being genuine in their interaction. It may take time to let your guard down.
But, it is worth working through the discomfort and staying in a church that understands and practices Christian unity.
